Ometepe

It's been a long time since I read about, or saw a picture of, a far-off place and found myself daydreaming about going there. (I guess Wanderlust is not the only kind of lust that fades with age....)

But after reading about the Nicaraguan island of Ometepe in the Washington Post -- and especially after seeing some pictures of the place:

...I find it unsettlingly easy to imagine myself sitting on a verandah, drinking some kind of rum-and-fruit-juice concoction with an exotic name, and just staring out at that landscape. The Post's Julian Smith puts it well:

"Nicaragua is a country drawn by a child: bordered by oceans, filled with jungles and volcanoes and a giant lake - and two volcanoes in the lake. Concepcion and Maderas, a pair of mountains joined by ancient lava flows, make up the hourglass-shaped island. Both peaks wear toupees of clouds."


Somehow I never bought into that Bali Hai business. Until now.